Cougar Town: Washington State Ending Tradition Of Playing Football Game In Seattle

The Washington State football team's game tomorrow against Rutgers at CenturyLink Field will be its "last home game in Seattle for the foreseeable future," according to Jacob Thorpe of the Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW. With the exception of '10, WSU has "played one home game" there every year since '02. But the school will "not play a home game in Seattle next season," and AD Bill Moos has "indicated that the WSU football team is unlikely to cross the Cascade Mountains again unless it’s for an Apple Cup." Thorpe notes the Seattle game’s purpose was to "increase the program’s exposure in the state’s most populous city, but also to provide an injection of money to a program that needed it at the time." The average Seattle game attendance of 50,273 is "roughly 15,000 more than the seating capacity of WSU’s Martin Stadium," and the game "netted WSU as much as twice the revenue that a sellout in Pullman brings in." But WSU's "coffers have swelled thanks to the Pac-12’s recent television deal, allowing Moos to spend much more heavily than in the past on coaches and facilities." The new revenue also means WSU no longer has to "sell a home game for the sake of the balance sheet" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 8/27).

FEELING BUSCHED: In St. Louis, Dave Matter reports Missouri and Arkansas State "won’t be moving their 2015 football game to Busch Stadium." Arkansas State AD Terry Mohajir informed St. Louis Sports Commission PresidentFrank Viverito on Monday that the game "will stay in Jonesboro." Missouri can buy out of the '15 game "for a $600,000 fee, but as of July, Mohajir had not discussed that option with MU." Viverito "declined to say how much the sports commission offered ASU to move the game to St. Louis." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in July that St. Louis’ offer was $1.5-2M (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 8/27).